Starcrossed
by Falconcry
Summary: She's a Mako-infused monster. He's a SOLDIER, 1st Class. She finds herself caught between two worlds: in one she's considered an outcast due to the experiments conducted on her, but in the other she finds herself falling for the man that saved her life.


Quiet midnight blue skies overhead harbored stars as silent as the earth itself, the waxing gibbous moon shining down its light brightly on the sleeping city of Midgar below, spires and towers of metal shooting up unevenly into the skyline, marring the horizon line like jagged fangs. The industrial section was quiet, smokestacks long forlorn and machines sat cooling in the factories, waiting for the next morning for their workers to return and start the cycle of monotonous work that kept the sprawling city alive; the heartbeat of Midgar. Dawn was mere hours away, the obstinate silence daring anyone to break the peace of the night. A single shadow flew over the rooftops, moving so fast that he could've been a trick of the moonlight, an apparition to those with tired eyes in bad need of rest, and the only time that you could be sure he was really there was when he jumped in front of the moon, his silhouette only briefly visible against the stark white orb of light before melting into the shadows cast by the maze of steel climbing high into the sky.

Unlike the factory workers, safely sleeping in their beds that night, the life of a SOLDIER, 1st Class, was often more erratic and knife-edged then that, usually including dangling your life right over the gaping jaws of death and then snatching it back up at the last possible instant, laughing, knowing you'd do it again in a second. And Zack Fair loved it, every single, heart-pounding moment, right down to the feeling of exhaustion and a job well done that sets deep into your bones after success, and the crushing weight of defeat upon your shoulders. Zack's mind tended to drift from the latter, however, the cold wind racing past him as he sprinted for all he was worth across the dark rooftops, light aquamarine eyes light with a cunning fire, defying the cruel laws of gravity and leaving the earth far behind beneath his feet as he performed sailing leaps of faith, split-second calculations in midair the only thing between him and a neck-breaking drop to the streets below.

Zack laughed at fate, he literally laughed out loud, the wind stealing his breath from his mouth as he hit the rooftop hard, his boots already running across the metal roof, making no noise at all as he got farther and farther into the heart of the industrial sector, the houses and factories getting smaller and quainter, more run down and dirty. Zack lifted his head while running, brushing some of his raven-black hair out of his eyes and scanning the horizon line for his target. It was seconds before he spotted it: a stark grey metal building, unremarkable in itself, its large, blocky build spreading out for about half a block in both directions of the small street, looked like it had just been slapped down there for no apparent reason. But there was a reason for this large, prison-like complex, set apart from the rest of the blocks structures by a length of electrically charged fencing surrounding it, topped off with razor wire to keep the average bear a safe distance away.

But why all this secrecy for a simple smelting plant? That's what SOLDIER intended on finding out one way or another, and Zack had been chosen for this delicate job of classic espionage, the perfect little spy that he was. Or not. Stealth wasn't exactly on Zack's top ten list of skills. Excitement pounded through his veins as he alighted an adjacent rooftop, raptor-like vision picking out every guard on their too casual stroll through their much walked routes of security, but they were sloppy, their steps too relaxed to be truly prepared for an ambush. Slightly disappointed, Zack's eyes wandered over the ground, picking out spots likely to be tripwire sensitive locations and motion detecting software hotspots and tucking them away in his mind, programming it in himself to be subconsciously aware of their exact coordinates. Shifting his weight from one leg to the other, he replayed the mission basics in his mind, trying his best to subdue the rolling wave of adrenaline that was making him quiver slightly. Locate and infiltrate the plant and search for suspicious activity. Don't make a scene, don't get caught… blah blah blah.

Gripping the handle of his Buster Sword for reassurance of its easily-forgotten weight upon his back, Zack couldn't help but smirk as he picked out an easy path into the building through the guards' lazy watches. The poor saps, they wouldn't know what hit them. Crouching down for a split second Zack shot into the air, easily clearing the security fence and hit the ground outside the building. Looking up, it was a lot bigger than it seemed from the rooftops. Barely any windows, which was strange if it really was a smelting plant. Wouldn't the fumes get caught inside? Footsteps echoed off to his left and Zack quickly zigzagged unseen through a clear blind spot in the security camera's path, inhuman speed aiding him well as he picked up speed and ran straight up the wall, grabbing the roof's edge at the last second and performing a tight flip onto the roof all without breaking a sweat. Not that that was all that unusual, but something was bothering him.

This was too easy. Something wasn't right here. Zack frowned slightly, looking back over the yard he had just cleared in less than 30 seconds, watching the guards' patterns again, the faulty steps looking almost forged into their gait, like they had been told to walk that way… "Hey!" A high-pitched voice, tenor with fear, rang out behind him. Zack flinched slightly and listened as the footsteps behind him drew nearer, waiting for the right moment to turn. "Who are you?" He took another step, too close. In a movement too fast for the human eye to fully perceive, Zack spun around, the Buster Sword making a clean line down the soldier's body. Groaning he went down, near death, and Zack silently re sheathed his sword, muscles involuntarily tensing for another fight. Nothing. No one had even heard them. Excellent.

A quick scan of the rooftop revealed a hatch labeled FIRE EXIT leading down into the interior of the building and Zack opened it, and, with one last glance at the guard lying in a growing pool of his own blood, slipped inside. Zack's gloved hands gripped the rungs of the ladder as he made his way down to the floor, a sticky, antiseptic smell hitting him hard and making his nose sting with the force of the stench. Resisting the urge to sneeze he dropped stealthily onto the floor, his boots squeaking slightly on the highly polished linoleum floor. The walls were a startling off-white, hallways snaking off in many different directions of the sprawling insides of the building, the air saturated with smells that were akin to that of a research lab. Automatically, Zack's eyes flicked over to the security cameras, none pointed in his direction, giving him more time to examine his surroundings.

This was _definitely_ not a smelting plant; the interior was completely different, even the air had a sterile tinge to it that told of a scientific presence here. There was something going on here, something that required a cover-up story to hide, and something that Zack was determined to find out. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket and Zack flipped it open and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Zack." It was Angeal's voice. "Are you inside?"

"Yeah." Zack grinned, hoping that his mentor would be able to hear it in his voice. "It was a piece of cake. I could've done it blindfolded!" He frowned slightly. "But it's definitely not a smelting plant, looks more like a science lab." Silence radiated from the other end of the line, and when Angeal spoke again, his voice was solemn.

"Then our worst fears have been confirmed. Don't get careless Zack. Find out at much as you can, then get out of there."

"Wait, what worst fears? Angeal?" But the line went dead, and he found himself listening to static. Sighing, Zack put his phone back in his pocket and rolled his shoulders, looking around with a wary eye, trying to find a hallway that looked promising. Finding one he ran down it, keeping his weight on the balls of his feet to make the least amount of noise possible while scanning the hallway for any sign of activity that would prove to be suspicious. His gaze stopped on a single door with a plaque that read: "Observatory" and he slowed his gait, doing a quick 360 to make sure that no security cameras were trained his way, and tried to knob. Unlocked, so he pushed it open and entered.

His pupils dilated to gather what little light was in the room, surprisingly dim in itself, the only light that came into the room was spilling in from a large window taking up one side of the room. Zack's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked towards the window, feeling his blood begin to race at the scene before his eyes as he crouched down and only let his eyes above the windowsill. It was a research lab, but unlike any he had ever seen before. Scientists in white coats beyond number dotted the room, white just like the outside hallways, but this white in this room radiated something sinister, almost as if to make you focus on the center of the white room by giving you nothing else to look at. Whitecoats sat at computer terminals, typing away at the keyboards with fixated stares at the lit monitors, watching deftly as the data scrolled past their eyes, some milling about with clipboards in their hands, scribbling down complex equations that Zack couldn't make heads or tails of. His eyes wandered to the center finally, and opened fully with horror. There was a huge cylindrical tank connected to both the ceiling and the floor by masses of wires and tubes, and a girl was floating in the sickly green liquid inside. He couldn't make out much of her features from this distance, but he could tell that that she was listless, her eyes shut loosely as her long hair drifted aimlessly through the tank around her, but Zack couldn't quite make out the color at this distance. An oxygen mask was hooked around her mouth and nose, along with many other wires stuck into her skin at various points, no doubt collecting whatever information that the scientists were reading so casually on their screens.

A scientist with a clipboard stopped writing and walked over to one at a terminal, placing a hand on the shoulder of his fellow and said something into his ear, and the seated whitecoat nodded and tapped on his keyboard again. A surge of bright lime green light lit up the liquid in the tank, and the girl inside crumpled with pain, her face screwing up in agony as her closed eyes tightened. Zack stifled a gasp at what he saw, but was unable to bring himself away from the window and process was repeated several times, each time the girl writhing within the confines of her tank, and the last time her eyes opened wide, full of fear and confusion. She looked straight into Zack's eyes, the force of the emotion in her eyes so strong he fell back on his haunches, stunned momentarily until he could finally let out the breath that he didn't even know he had been holding.

How could they do this to her? A human being? Zack righted himself and gazed out the window again; rage bubbling up inside of him to see that she was curled into a half-fetal position with pain, her features contorted again, but the whitecoats paid it no mind and just continued working as if nothing had ever happened. His jaw twitched in annoyance, his eyes hard as he involuntarily went for his sword, knowing that he had to rescue her, no matter what the cost; to break in there, kill as many of those cold-hearted monsters as he could, then save her and get out of here. Common sense said no, but the blood-pounding sensation rising in his pulse told him heck yes.

He braced himself for the split-second collision of glass on flesh as he crashed through the window, drawing his sword in one movement and swinging it in a powerful arc, cutting through some of the scientists, fierce satisfaction coursing through his blood, now flowing hot and ready through his veins, pumping lightning adrenaline through his body as he threw his gaze around the room, daring others to get in his way. All eyes were turned to him, a black clad avenging angel in this room of white. The air reeked of scientific taint, and he wrinkled his nose at it and rushed the other scientists, his sword making short work of them while the air was filled with the shriek of alarms. _Crap. _Massive understatement.

Zack grimaced as he put the Buster Sword on his back and turned to the girl in the tank, who was staring at him with wide, frightened eyes, her hands placed on the insides of the glass, and Zack tried to give her a reassuring smile as he looked for a way to get her out of there. His heartbeat jumped as a bullet whizzed past his ear and hit the glass, a spider web crack appearing in the surface, slowly growing larger. His sword in his hand in a flash, his heartbeat pounded in his ears as he saw guards pouring into the room, bullets filling the air around him as Zack knocked them away with well-placed strokes of the Buster Sword, gritting his teeth in frustration. More cracks appeared in the glass and liquid began to spill out of the tank as Zack was forced to duck behind a broken computer terminal to avoid being hit, light sky blue eyes flicking to the girl in the tank, her eyes stretched wide with terror as the tank got closer to being breached, their eyes locking again.

It was only a brief repose, however, and as another bullet hit it, the glass tank shattered into thousands of pieces with a high pitched ringing noise, fragments of the tank hitting Zack as he raised him arm to protect his face, biting his lip as pieces of glass sank into his arm. He looked again at the remains of the tank, green liquid flowing off the pedestal it once stood on, wires hanging off the ceiling, some with their points still embedded in the skin of the girl who was laying in a heap on the floor, her hair and skin soaked with the fluid and stained green. "You let it escape you idiot!" One of the guards yelled as Zack hurried over to the girl while still keeping his head low, anger hitting him in the side of the face like a punch to hear them call this girl and it.

"N-no I didn't!" Another voice shouted back, accompanied by the sound of retreating footfalls as they ran out of the room. "You missed the SOLDIER!" Their voices faded as Zack turned the girl over, carefully removing the oxygen mask from her face, her eyes still closed and her mouth hung open slightly, and panic rose in Zack's chest, worried that she might be dead. Suddenly the girl coughed violently, spitting up some of the green liquid, and began to breathe normally, Zack sighing heavily in relief. He smiled slightly as her eyes fluttered open to reveal iridescent blue-silver eyes staring up at him, mouth moving as if trying to form words but no sound came out.

He gently gathered her into his arms, straightening slowly so as not to jar her, unable to tear his eyes from her gaze, her beautiful eyes curious and bright, like that of a child. "I'm Zack." He said, and she blinked, a glimmer of understanding alighting in her eyes. "Zack Fair." Her mouth opened again and she made a noise that sounded like _ack_, and he realized she was trying to say his name.

"Z-ack. Zack." She said brokenly in a voice that was small like a young girl's, even though she looked more like she was Zack's age. She smiled, lighting up her face with a glow that traveled to her eyes and made them shine, and for a moment they beamed at each other. She weakly placed a hand on his chest, her eyes still sparkling, and tried to say something else, but her voice failed her and she languished in his arms, relaxing in unconsciousness. A hissing reached Zack's ears and he dropped to his knees instantly as something large and hot passed over him, and he raised his head to see a rocket's trail of smoke arc through the air and smash into a reactor on the wall, the explosion deafening. A bright flash of light accompanied the blast and Zack bent his body over the girl to keep the debris from falling on her, and he knew without turning around that they had brought rocket launchers into the equation.

Without a second thought he began running, the crackling of flames telling him that a fire had begun and people were shouting at each other, one telling someone to put the fire out, another barking orders, and one was very clear. "Don't let him escape! We need that experiment alive!" Zack's face hardened in anger at their addressing of her again, but he didn't slow his pace as he rushed out into the hallway, running blindly now, not caring who saw him but only knew this mission was a bust. Startled scientists dove out of his way as he shot past them, looking around frantically for an exit, holding the girl close to him. She stirred slightly and emitted a soft moan, weighting next to nothing in Zack's muscular arms as he ran.

Seemingly endless hallways yawned before him and he began to panic, the smell of smoke coming through all the vents now and the sound of a roaring fire filling the air slowly behind him. Zack skidded to a halt, holding the girl closer as he came to a way out that was blocked by no less than a dozen men, all training guns at him. "ShinRa scum," One of them spat as he released the safety on his gun. "There's no way you can escape now, SOLDIER." Zack sighed, a pitying grin on his lips.

"Just watch me." He said, his eyes flicking to the window above the doorway, small, but he was confident he could make it through; he gathered his muscles for the jump. The guard followed Zack's eyes, but too late. The SOLDIER sprang just as the guard open fired, and Zack tucked in his head to protect the girl as he smashed through the window. He landed on his feet outside in the wet grass, bending his knees slightly for a split second and then set off sprinting again, outrunning the guards that tried to mow him down with bullets. Zack looked down at the girl as he ran towards the gate, filtering out the shouts of the security behind him. "You'll be fine, I promise." He said to her before snapping his head up and cleared the gate in a single, fluid leap, landing on the other side with his feet already in motion.

The buildings surrounding the lab were already crawling with guards, forcing Zack to duck into alleys to avoid gunfire and always stay on the move. Zack longed to draw his sword, but that would mean dropping the girl and that was out of the question. He stopped running and hid in an old alley, breath coming hard and fast, the guards running straight past his hiding place and their voices growing fainter as they charged off in the wrong direction. Zack sighed and set the girl down gently against the side of the building, flipping open his cell phone and dialing for Angeal. He would know what to do. While it rang, Zack noticed an annoying sharp pain in his arm and looked down to see a bullet hole in his skin, oozing blood. He had been shot. Snarling with annoyance, Zack ignored it as Angeal picked up.

"Zack?" Angeal's voice was concerned and relief washed through Zack to hear it.

"Yeah, it's me." Zack's breathless tone caught him off guard. "I'm requesting an immediate evac in Sector 6 of myself and one other person."

"One other?" Angeal's tone was sharp, suspicious, and the bullet wound in Zack's arm throbbed hotly with pain, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. "Zack, what's going on? What happened?"

"It's a long story." Zack said impatiently, risking a quick glance out of the safety of the alley. "But just make it fast, okay? I'm not sure how much longer she has."

"Who? Zack, what did you do?" Zack sighed, his eyes lingering on the form of the girl, the green liquid giving her skin an unearthly tinge as it dried.

"I'll explain later, Angeal. Just hurry, please." He tried not to beg and hung up, running his hands through his spiky black hair and huffed air out of his mouth, closing his eyes as the first few weak rays of dawn painted the rooftops of Midgar. The city was waking up, the start of a new day. He kept his eyes shut and let the adrenaline run through his system, shaking slightly with the leftover energy from the chase. Suddenly his eyes flew open, a thought striking him with the force of a missile blast. Mako. His eyes darted over to the girl, thoughts racing almost as fast as his heart as he knelt next to her, brushing some of her sticky green hair out of the way for him to read a label on a plastic collar around her neck: MAKO FUSION SUBJECT FB-4.

He recoiled in horror, recalling Angeal's words; _"Our worst fears have been confirmed." _


End file.
